Art Analysis: Classical Era Exhibit

    During the 1700s, various political, social, and economic changes led to the middle class gaining more power and wealth. They commissioned works of art to display their newfound prestige and wealth in society. Art stopped being a commodity for just the aristocracy or the church. The middle class disliked the aristocracy and Rococo style that displayed their excessively opulent lifestyle, such as The Swing by Jean-Honore Fragonard. So opposing works were created like William Hogarth's Marriage A-la-Mode as a mockery of aristocracy and later neoclassical works such as Jacques-Louis David's The Death of Marat in stark contrast to Rococo's lightheartedness. 

 (Fragonard, Jean-Honore The Swing, 1767) 

    The Swing is a great example of the Rococo style, as it depicts a young woman swinging to secretly expose herself to a lover hidden in the bushes. It was painted by Jean-Honore Fragonard as oil on an 81 x 64.2 canvas and commissioned in 1767 by a member of the French aristocracy. This piece encapsulates Rococo values and aristocratic interests of the time depicting a sense of play, pleasure, eroticism, and carefreeness (Bruckbauer). The woman playfully flirts with her lover with the swing, too entranced by her actions to notice her shoe is flying off. While a series of cherub statues, and other symbols of love, surround the couple and are in lighthearted awe and secrecy of their action.

    Fragonard's use of rich color makes the scene vibrant and alive. The forest is of lush green and bright flowers. The soft pinks and whites of the dress highlight the woman's femininity and a sense of ironic innocence. There's also a strong use of diagonal lines that drive movement and viewers' eyes. There's a line from a swing line that curves past the woman and along the lover's outstretched arm which helps direct the eye from the woman and notice the lover on the left. The shaft of light creates a sharp line that helps direct the eye from the woman to the man pulling her swing. The lighting helps to highlight the figures and their importance. The woman is in a shaft of light, her lover hidden in the bushes but still illuminated by the shaft, and the man pulling her swing is deeply shadowed in the background. It may also symbolize which figures truly know the woman's intentions on the swing, with the woman knowing most and the background man not knowing at all. 

    

    Would I want this painting in my house? Yes, I would. I enjoy the playfulness and exaggeration of Rococo art and the composition of this piece heavily depicts Rococo values. Although it might be too sensual of a piece to have in my living room.

(Hogarth, William Marriage A-la-Mode 2: The Tete a Tete, 1743)

    In contrast, Marriage A-la-Mode by William Hogarth heavily criticizes and satires the aristocracy by depicting an arranged couple throughout their gaudy, debauched, syphilis-ridden, and immoral life. It was created in 1743 as a series of oil paintings on 69.9 x 90.8 cm canvas, and as engravings to be sold to the rising middle class (Harris and Zucker). 

    The panel that I feel criticizes the aristocracy the best is The Tete a Tete. Which shows the young couple's "antipathy and disharmony" (UK Gallery). The husband is incredibly tired and has just come back from a long night of "gambling, drinking, and womanizing" which is alluded to by the dog sniffing a different woman's bonnet in his pocket (Harris and Zucker). While the wife is in her own world of elation from her last night's adventures She relaxes in her chair with loosely done clothes, her arms are in the arm as if to signal a lover, and furniture is scattered with musical instruments. Music and musical instruments were a symbol of pleasure, and sensuality at the time. This implies some lovemaking happened just before the husband came home (Harris and Zucker). 

    Hogarth's use of color helps create a sense of melancholy and immorality in the couple's marriage. Everything is very dull and muted which helps show the disconnect between the couple. They are too focused on their own lives, it's blurry between them and even the house they live in together. The only stark color is the red of the upturned chair, where recent lovemaking may have happened. Which color-wise connects to the pastel pink of the woman's dress. 

    There's also a great amount of shape language used in this piece. The background house is flat, structured, and rigid which helps the sense of forced bondage the couple dwell in from their arranged marriage. All the figures are in fluid, chaotic poses as if to break through their confinement through their debaucheries and adultery. 

    Would I want this painting in my house? No, I don't enjoy this piece or series that much. I can appreciate its value as a historical satire but the subject matter is too excessive and unseemly for personal appreciation. I'd rather see this in a museum if I had to at all. 

(David, Jacques-Louis The Death of Marat, 1793)

    The criticism of the aristocracy, plus the Enlightenment movement, helped to develop the neoclassical style. Revolutionary artist Jacques-Louis David used this style to help to bolster and propagate the French Revolutionist ideas. He was part of the Jacobin Club (an extremist revolutionary club), served in the revolutionary government, and "was essentially the Minister of Propaganda" by spreading the revolution through his art (Harris and Zucker). David's The Death of Marat is a beautiful example of not just middle-class social power but political propaganda, it was created in 1973 as oil on canvas, and it measures 165 x 128 cm. 

    The painting depicts David's friend and publisher, Jean Marat, dying in his bathtub. As a publisher, Marat was important in disseminating Revolutionist ideals. He tricked into an interview with Charlotte Corday, a royalist, who stabbed and killed him in his bathtub. Marat was turned into a revolutionary martyr, and this painting helps to solidify it. The composition is purposely similar to Michelangelo's Pieta, as Marat lays dead across the tub's walls like Christ upon Madonna's lap. Like previous religious works, objects of Marat's mythos surround him. The knife that killed him lies on the ground, the letter Corday sent him is still in his hand, and his body is unrealistically unblemished except for the killing wound. 

    David’s composition makes great use of light and space. The foreground and mid-ground objects are realistically lit, in theme of neoclassicism, and there’s a dark shadow behind Marat to make him pop in the painting. Light comes the top right corner to balance out lighting in the composition. The objects are perfectly spaces between each other. They are far enough away to not crowd each other but close enough to Marat’s body to signify their importance to his death. The quill and paper are still in his hand to show as if death can’t stop his work. Or it shows the separation of  his innocent body to the duplicitous and evil letter of Corday (Harris and Zucker). The empty background balances out the busier foreground and could represent the emptiness his death leave to the revolution.

Would I want this piece in my house? No, not particularly. The subject matter is fine and the composition is amazing but neither French Revolution, religious-like undertones, or neoclassical style interest me.

Works Cited:

Bruckbauer, Ashley. “Jean-Honoré Fragonard, the Swing.” Smarthistory, 26 Feb. 2021, smarthistory.org/jean-honore-fragonard-the-swing/. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.

Harris, Beth, and Steven Zucker. “Jacques-Louis David, the Death of Marat.” Smarthistory, 7 Jan. 2016, smarthistory.org/jacques-louis-david-the-death-of-marat/. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.

Harris, Beth, and Steven Zucker. “William Hogarth, Marriage A-La-Mode (Including Tete a Tete).” Khan Academy, 31 Aug. 2013, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/early-europe-and-colonial-americas/reformation-counter-reformation/v/william-hogarth-s-marriage-a-la-mode-c-1743. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.

UK National Gallery. “William Hogarth, ‘Marriage A-La-Mode: 2, the Tête à Tête’, about 1743.” William Hogarth | Marriage A-La-Mode: 2, The Tête à Tête | NG114 | National Gallery, London, 2016, www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/william-hogarth-marriage-a-la-mode-2-the-tete-a-tete. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.